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Vocabulary

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gemstone- any hard, colorful mineral that has a brilliant or glassy luster

ore- a rock that contains an economically useful mineral

strip mines- mining in which earthmoving equipment scrapes away soil to expose ore

open pit mining- mining in which giant earthmoving equipment dig a tremendous pit

shaft mines- mining that has a network of tunnels that extend deep underground

alloy- a solid mixture of two or more impurities from iron

Outline

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T= Mineral Resources

• Minerals are the source of metals, gemstones, and other minerals used to make many products.

  • Gemstones

    • any mineral w/ glassy luster
    • colorful
      • rubies
      • sapphires
    • valued for durability+ rare

  • Metals

    • some minerals= source of metals
      • metals= useful, molded without breaking
      • metals= used for
        • steel girders
        • metal filament
        • tools+ machinery

  • Other Useful Minerals

    • talc= used for talcum powder
    • fluorite= used for aluminum+ steel
    • calcite= used for microscopes
    • quartz= used for watches
    • kaolin= china and pottery
    • gypsum= wallboard, cement, stucco
    • corundum= used to polish+ clean

  • Ore

    • ore= rock contains economically useful mineral
      • most metals don't occur pure form
      • metal usually occurs as mineral

  • Prospecting

    • prospector= anyone who searches for ore

  • Mining

    • three types of mining=
      • strip mine
        • earthmoving equipment scrapes away soil
      • open pit mine
        • used remove ore that start near surface
        • earthmoving equipment digs tremendous hole
      • shaft mines
        • have network of tunnels
        • used for ore deposits in veins
    • mining= harmful to environment
      • strip+ open pit mining= scars Earth
      • waste materials from mining= pollute rivers

  • Smelting

    • After miners remove ore from a mine, smelting is necessary to remove the metal from the ore
      • smelting= melting ore to separate metal
        • smelting steps
          • 1. Ore crushed, mixed w/ coke
          • 2. Mixture put in blast furnace
          • 3. Coke burns= change chemical
          • 4. melted iron sinks to bottom
          • 5. Impurities in ore+ limestone= slag
          • 6. Slag+ molten iron poured

Smelting proccess

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